BOOK REVIEW: EMBER QUEEN BY LAURA SEBASTIAN

Author: Laura Sebastian
Series: Ash Princess #3
Published: February 4, 2020
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 512
From: Barnes and Noble
Rating: 6/10

The world will burn. That is the goal of Theodosia, the Queen of Astrea, after witnessing her mother’s murder at the hands of her best friend’s father. After years of being held prisoner by the very people who invaded her homeland and killed her mother. After setting the spark that would become the rebellion this young woman needed.

And that is what Theo attempts to do. Ember Queen, the third novel by Laura Sebastian, newly minted as a must-buy author, takes the reader on a whirlwind adventure of fire and water, magic and war, love and trust. The characters Sebastian has brought to life are just like us in the real world: hateful, full of love, seeking vengeance, seeking stability. And she succeeds.

This novel is by far the best one of the three, because Sebastian has really cemented her writing style and learned a lot by way of structure and craft. Theo continues to lament her mother’s death, but it does not consume her thoughts, and we as readers can tell. It was one of my biggest peeves about the debut in the trilogy, Ash Princess, because I felt it removed the sympathy the reader would feel toward Theo hearing her thoughts about the loss of her mother so much. I believe Sebastian has really learned a lot about her writing, her audience and herself, and you can see her growth between books.

Ember Queen really is a clean ending to the Ash Princess trilogy. We have a conclusion to the rebellion that was not exactly expected but that fit really well with the story and characters, and we have a solid space for how our beloved characters will continue on, if they survived. We saw Theo’s powers grow, her love for her people bloom, and her feelings for one particular person burn so steadily (which I loved; I love this person so much for Theo).

This was a perfect conclusion to Theo’s story, and I am thrilled to see how Sebastian has changed from the first page to the last. I know she has worked her craft even more and even better since the release of Ember Queen, and she has delved into the world of adult fantasy, and I cannot wait to see the other worlds she builds through words.

Laura Sebastian’s books can be purchased wherever books are sold, including independent book stores. For more reviews of Sebastian’s third novel, and the third in the trilogy, check out Sifa Elizabeth Reads’ review here and Moon and Coffee’s review here.